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Pilawt
Even though wheel fairings are optional on most types, there may still be other ramifications to removing them. From the TCDS of my PA-32-300:
Do wheel pants make a difference?
- Thread starter Chrisgoesflying
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Domenick
What I hate most about the Warrior II pants (-161) are the stupid SouthCo Dzus fasteners. Would have been much better to just use screws and nut plates. The time spent getting every one of the SouthCos aligned so the damned thing will go on straight is likely more than the time to deal with actual screws.
I am lucky I can jack it up pretty easy and spin the tire around to get to the valve stem through the access door. I use the same air chuck that I use on semi truck tires. Works good through the door on the fairing.
Ed Haywood
En-Route
I think my Decathlon looks fine either way. But I am about 50/50 on flying with them. I generally mount for XC and go bare for acro. I also mount during the rainy season or when there are a lot of grass clippings on the runway. Would rather have the pants gunked up than my wings and belly.
Ed Haywood
En-Route
Easy enough to do a minor alteration to change that.
Maxnr
Line Up and Wait
My opinion, for what it's worth, is that any speed gain is barely measurable. I value wheel pants because they keep mud and trash off the wing bottoms. One on the nose wheel protects the prop to a degree. But ease to inspect tires is also important. The "open" style of wheel pants on recent pictures of a radial engine Hatz biplane has advantages. See air to air pics posted by Lowflyinjack on this forum Sept 2. Also in the EAA magazine. Easy to inspect and air up. Change my mind.
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Ari
The faster the plane, the more difference the pants make. They look wrong on a Cub and probably give you 1/10 of a knot more speed while catching mud and slush wherever you go. But they look great on an RV and are reputed to add 10-15 knots, while discouraging you from going someplace rough enough to hurt the engine mount. Horses for courses.
LesGawlik
Line Up and Wait
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Good Guy
The problem is that knot or mph is too coarse a measurement. I propose a milliknot mkt and microknot mukt. Doesn't it sound much better to say "These wheel pants add about 370 microknots to my TAS at cruise."
Pants on the Archer give about 5kts. Helps a little, but they’re more for the cosmetic appeal.
The PA28 has the same requirement, which the OP should be aware of if the pants are removed. I suspect this is one of the reasons I see some Cherokees with a nosewheel fairing mounted and the mains removed.
From your description, you must have the later style wheel pants. They are one of the worst designs I’ve ever seen, when it comes to removal and installation. If a mechanic wasn’t an alcoholic prior to working on Cherokees, he would be after trying to put a set of those pants on. The poor guy would probably have a mental breakdown within a year if he had to maintain a fleet of aircraft with those things installed.
But they are effective; far more effective than the earlier style wheel pants. I’d rip the old style Cherokee pants off and throw them in the rubbish bin, but I’d leave the later pants on because they actually do their job. And they don’t look terrible either.
Lycosaurus
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Meme Curator
Depends on the plane, the design of the wheel pants and the speed you are going. In a homebuilt like a Vans RV, the wheel pant design is coined as pressure recovery. It is not out of the ordinary to see a speed increase from 164 kts to 175 kts with the wheel pants on. As they say, your mileage may vary 
Kenny Phillips
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Kenny Phillips
The front fairing on our Skyhawk cracked; just removing it cost a consistent two to three kts, on an already slow plane. Sold it just after that, didn't need to repair it.
DMD3.
Pre-takeoff checklist
Now that you make me think about it I don't recall seeing a Cherokee without wheel pants. Not sure what it would look like?
Like Clip4 said do you want to go even slower?
I bought my "trainer" from a friend for a song in 2018 before the prices went nuts and he did not have the wheel pants on. I found them buried in his hangar made sure they came with the plane when I bought it.
I put them on back then and like the way it looks with them on. It helps maybe set it apart from a trainer plane?
I flew 3 winters with them on in some snowy icy conditions and never had a problem with ice or snow.
The last 2 years I have done a lot of grass/turf landings with no problems.
This past summer I put new tires on the mains and left the wheel pants off until I needed new brake pads so I could inspect them easier. And I wanted a change of pace/look for a while.
I found out they keep my plane much cleaner. I have mud spray on the bottom of the wings, grass stuck in my mains and the front fork is all green and nasty now without wheel pants. I plan to put them back on soon just in time for winter on my 172.
I have flown my buddy's Cherokee quite a bit on my signature picture.
That looks a lot like the Skyhawk I trained/rented in, though I realize this paint & color scheme was quite common. I hope that’s not N4912G, because if it is then I’d owe you an apology for all the wear & tear that’s accumulated.
At a minimum, I’d expect a logbook entry for the removal. An equipment list and weight and balance update may also be in order.
I never took them off my Archer and never had an issue. But I also rarely use a tire gauge during preflight- if the tires are low enough to be a concern I can see the extra squish at the bottom of the tire easily enough. Also been lucky to have tires that rarely need aired up. Topped off at annual and usually at some point when the weather gets cool gets me through most years without issue.